Melting

Springtime is finally hitting the Arctic and everything is melting! When I left Arctic Village two weeks ago I rode the snow machine to the airport. Everything was still solidly frozen in the village and if not for the longer hours of daylight, you wouldn't be able to guess it was spring yet. When I got into Fairbanks everything was already melted. It was like flying from winter to spring in just under two hours!

Yesterday as I flew back up to Arctic Village signs of spring were beginning to really show.

Here is a shot of the Yukon River as we flew into Fort Yukon. The ice has broken up and a guy at the airport told me that every day there are fewer and fewer chunks of ice in the river.

Here is another shot of the Yukon River from the plane as we left Fort Yukon. Still some ice down the middle, but definitely open water moving.

As we got closer to Arctic, there was still quite a bit of snow but patches of bare ground were present. I was keeping a close eye out for bears and bear tracks, but didn't see any. I know they are awake and out there!

Most of the lakes are still frozen over, but a few more warm days and they'll be breaking up.

As you can see, there is still snow around the village, but the roads and well worn trails have started to melt. Everyone has switched over to four wheelers now because there is not enough snow left for snow machines. Sam parked ours yesterday for the season. So now our primary mode of transportation is walking in rubber boots! You are never too old for puddle jumping!

In this picture you can see how melted the roads are. Our house is toward the top left of this photo.

When I got home yesterday the kids were eager to see me. One even came over and cooked dinner! She had never actually cooked a meal all by herself before, but was very excited to try. She cut these purple potatoes, added seasonings and sautéed all by herself.

She was very proud of the outcome! She kept asking Sam, "Do you like it?", "How does it taste?" Sam made sure to express how good it was and even had two helpings!

Jack expressed his thanks for all the food dropped on the floor during cooking!

Jack isn't too sure how he feels about break-up. When we got back from church today he was up on the desk that we tie him up to.

He wasn't really sure how to get down once he was up there. I think he is getting tired of laying in wet snow and was looking for an escape.

Typing up this post must have jinxed us....I just looked out the window and it is snowing again!